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Start Time: 1:00 PM CT, Friday, November 27th
Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: ESPN3
Streaming: WatchESPN
Records: Troy Trojans: 3-7. Georgia State: 4-6.
Line: Georgia State -1. Over/Under 58
Troy Outlook:
From a competitive point of view, the season is practically over for Neal Brown's Trojans. After a blowout loss to Georgia Southern in Troy's last game, the team has no chance of winning the six games required to play in a bowl game.
Although Troy is theoretically playing for nothing, the 3-7 record is very deceiving. In Neal Brown's first year as head coach, Troy is in a clear rebuilding stage as a program, but the team has shown enough to give fans hope for the years to come. The Trojans will look to go out on a high note by winning their final two games to finish 5-7, and that starts this week against the Georgia State Panthers.
Troy will need a big performance from quarterback Brandon Silvers and the offense on Friday against a defense that, while improved, has a tendency to give up big numbers across the stat sheet. Most notably, the Panthers allow just under 250 yards through the air each week.
With a sophomore quarterback who is clearly the focal point of the near future, the Trojans need to give Brandon Silvers confidence heading into the offseason. If Silvers finds his rhythm early on, Troy needs to operate with an extremely pass-heavy approach both to win this week's game, and instill a bit of confidence in their young signal caller.
Georgia State Outlook:
With no running game to speak of, passing the ball is really the only option for the Panther offense. In fact, the team does not even average 100 yards per game on the ground. Demarcus Kirk and Kyler Neal will both see carries, but neither has even hit 350 yards on the ground for the season.
Passing is an entirely different story. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle has thrown for 3,135 yards and 20 touchdowns this year and is completing passes 63.8% of the time.
The Trojan defense, which has been very good this season against the pass, will have their hands full with receivers Penny Hart and Robert Davis, as combined they have 98 catches for 1,643 yards and nine touchdowns. Arbuckle is able to spread the ball around very effectively, making any receiver on the field dangerous at any given time.
Prediction: The matchup favors the Trojans across the board. With an effective passing attack against a defense that has been less than stellar and a great pass defense against a pass-heavy team, this is an easy one for me. Troy wins 27-24.